281: Tips for Finding a Career Coach

Ready to take your career to the next level? In this episode of The Mid-Career GPS Podcast, I will guide you through everything you need to know about finding the ideal career or leadership coach to help you thrive professionally. 

Whether you're stuck in career stagnation, navigating transitions, or striving for that next promotion, this episode is your go-to resource for making informed decisions about your coaching investment.

We’ll explore the critical differences between coaching and therapy, helping you understand how coaching empowers you to take charge of your professional journey. Learn how to assess potential coaches based on referrals, testimonials, experience, and their ability to align with your personal and professional goals. Discover why investing in the right coach can yield significant returns, including promotions, salary increases, and clarity in your career path.

Key topics include:

• Coaching vs. therapy: Understanding the distinctions
• How to identify your unique needs and goals
• Evaluating coaches based on fit, style, and certifications
• The financial ROI of career coaching
• Building a coaching structure for accountability and success
• Why a transformative coach-client relationship matters

As a certified career coach, I share insights into my tailored coaching services, workshops, and digital resources designed to help you construct your mid-career GPS. Whether you’re seeking one-on-one support or inspiration through my free newsletters and social media content, I’m here to help you chart your course confidently.

Ready to get started? Now, let’s explore how the right coach can help you achieve your professional aspirations. Don’t forget to connect with me on LinkedIn and follow John Neral Coaching for ongoing insights and support.

Chapters

• 0:00 Choosing the Right Career Coach
• 17:16 Investing in Career Coaching Services
• 30:27 Enhancing Your Career Journey

Transcript

John Neral: 0:00

Hey there, if you've ever considered hiring a coach for your career or your leadership, how do you know which one's the best? How do you know which coach is the right one for you? It's a question I've experienced and one I get asked a lot with people who are seeking to find a career coach for them, and that's why, in this episode, I'm going to peel back the curtain on my process and my business to help you pick the coach you believe will help you get the results you want. So let's get started. Hello, my friends, this is the Mid-Career GPS Podcast and I'm your host, John Neral. I help mid-career professionals like you find a job they love, or love the job they have, using my proven four-step formula. I've been thinking about doing this episode for a while and I'm glad I've got some time with you this week to talk to you about not just how you find a career coach or leadership coach, but also why having a coach may be exactly what you need right now to elevate or advance your career.

John Neral: 1:21

The new year without question January has been a lot okay and if you have been following the news, if you have been following what this current administration is doing, it is understandable that you might be feeling a little anxious, upset, angry, frustrated over some of the executive orders and the impacts that are directly hitting the federal workforce, but some fear that some of that may, or already has, trickled down into the corporate workforce, for example, the executive order about everybody being back in the office five days a week. We're seeing other companies fall in line with that as well, and so, based on your circumstance or situation, that may be something you're not liking. There are other things that are happening as well. If you've been following me for a while, you know I typically tend to not get into politics on this podcast. I will tell you this before we get started I am not surprised by anything that has happened. I followed both campaigns very, very closely leading up to the election. I am not surprised by anything that has happened. That doesn't mean I am not saddened or upset by it. So you're sitting there and you're thinking well, I'm not really sure where my career is going. I'm not really sure what might be next. I've heard about this coaching thing and I'm kind of wondering how do I navigate all of this to figure out what's the best move for me? So here's the thing Coaching is not therapy.

John Neral: 3:19

I know it's really important we make that distinction because there are times in a coaching relationship personal things may come up, especially if you're looking, say, for a life coach. Certainly, in career coaching there are times when my clients may bring something personal because it's impacting their work a little bit. Certainly okay, coaching them on it. I am not a therapist. I am not a trained, licensed therapist in any way, shape or form, nor do I claim to be right. But by definition, a coach is going to take you from a functioning state to an optimal state.

John Neral: 3:55

A therapist typically works with people who are in a state of dysfunction and moves them to a functioning state all right, and moves them to a functioning state all right. That dysfunction is not necessarily quote-unquote bad, but there is something that might be blocking them from functioning at a better level than what they are. Okay. I've been in therapy several times in my life, absolutely what I needed. I'm grateful for having my therapist when I've had them, and there are also times when I've had coaches and I'm very grateful for them as well, but it's a very clear and delineated line between the two, right?

John Neral: 4:33

So, as a coach like one of the things that I will, I will often say to my clients, or even to people who are inquiring about coaching, is that my job as a coach is to hold your agenda. We will often set a particular goal at the beginning of the session. I'll ask them what success may look like and then we will work toward achieving that goal. Let's say, for example, I'm working with a client who is mid-level, senior-level position. They might be in finance, project management, consulting, whatever it be. I work with people across a variety of different industries and they come to me and they say John, I have had it with work and I just wanna go greet people at Walmart.

John Neral: 5:26

Personally, I would not like that job. That job would bring up a lot of anxiety for me, not because I don't like people, but because I just wouldn't like that job. That's not something I'd really wanna do. That doesn't matter. As a coach, my job is to get really curious with them and say what's attracting you to that position? What makes that position more intriguing to you than what you're doing now? Is that position going to be able to help you meet your goals, your responsibilities? How does that position better your work and your life in some way, shape or form? That's about keeping the client's agenda front and center and not my own desire, which is I would never want to do that job. I always make it a point to say hi to those people, but I would never want to do that job. So what you also need to know and you are probably very well aware of this also is that the coaching industry has blown up over the last few years. There are people out there, like myself, who are trained and certified at being a coach. There are people out there who simply call themselves a coach. Both could be good, both could be bad. That's why you, as the client, the paying customer, needs to do your work in terms of who is the best coach for you.

John Neral: 6:57

Now. I had a background in instructional coaching before I moved into corporate, career and executive coaching, and one of the things that was really, really important for me was to go get certified. I found a program called IPEC, the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching. I started my training in November of 2016. The following year, after almost about 10 months, 11 months, almost a year I obtained my coaching certification, and that included over 300 hours of in-person and virtual instruction, along with practicum hours as well. There was a lot of work for me to get that certification. I did my research. The academic in me was all about like this was the program I want to go through and that's why this month I am very proud to say I am celebrating eight years in my business, and who I have helped has certainly evolved over the years.

John Neral: 8:05

But today my primary focus is helping mid-career professionals, who are typically mid-level, holding titles between manager and senior director. They're usually between the ages of 35 and 50. Their biggest pain point is that they don't wanna be stuck and when I ask them what stuck actually means, they will tell me that they don't wanna be stuck in their organization because there's no place for them to move or to elevate or be promoted within their organization. But they also don't wanna be stuck if they're stepping outside of their organization. But they also don't want to be stuck if they're stepping outside of their organization and they get overwhelmed by all of the things they think they should do to find a new job. So when somebody comes to me and they share with me where they're particularly stuck and if they meet a lot of the criteria for what I consider to be an ideal client, that becomes a great opportunity for us to work together.

John Neral: 9:15

So when you're looking for a coach, there's lots of ways you could find particular coaches, for example, referrals. Talk to your friends, your family members, your colleagues, your peers. Have they ever worked with a coach? Who do they work with? Did they like working with them? Referrals are a huge part of my business because when a client has a tremendous experience working with me and they get the results and achieve the goals that they wanted, they're going to go tell people look, here's who I worked with. You need to go talk to this guy. And then oftentimes, they come and they hire me as well. So I'm always grateful for referrals. Okay, you may also find a coach on social media. You may find it through a Google search even, and see who pops up. But a podcast like this with over 280 episodes if you're trying to navigate a career transition, you can get a really good idea of who I am and what I'm like by listening to this podcast, both either as a solo episode or an episode where I interview somebody. Episode or an episode where I interview somebody.

John Neral: 10:28

Do your research. Who do you want to work with? Do you want to work with a man or a woman? Do you want to work with somebody who has a lot of experience within your industry or not? Do you care if they're married or single, gay, straight, whatever that might be? You have an idea in terms of who you believe you are going to work best with, and if you are going to invest money in your career and leadership development, why would you not pick someone that you believe is a great fit for you? And that's the first thing. You've got to make sure you know what fit looks like. Additionally, what's their experience? What's their career path has been? How long have they been doing this?

John Neral: 11:20

Do you want somebody whose personality is very strict and regimented, or do you want somebody who is okay with a joke, is okay, keeping things a little lighthearted from time to time? I tell my clients all the time we're going to do a lot of work, we are going to have some fun while we do it and we're going to have some laughs along the way, and that's what's going to make this work important. So personality is important. The other thing is how do you want to be held accountable If you're going to try to find a new job or elevate your career in some way? What do the accountability structures look like and how hard of a touch do you want? I know that when I've hired coaches in the past especially business coaches whom I've worked with I do not want someone who's going to be yelling at me in my face, especially over Zoom. Okay. I also don't want somebody who's going to be overly aggressive in a way that I'm going to find to be a turnoff. If I'm coming to you because I need support in, say, growing my business, there's a very specific person who I know I am successful with and someone who I'm not.

John Neral: 12:44

Additionally, what are the results the coach has gotten? What are the testimonials? Say about them on their website, on their LinkedIn profile, and look. Testimonials and results are great ways to see what people have experienced. You know what they've experienced by working with somebody as their coach. You don't need hundreds upon hundreds, upon hundreds of recommendations and testimonials to know that someone is credible. You're also not going to read all of them. What you want is that credibility and social proof that that person's legit, so fit is extremely important. But then you have to look at the function, and when we talk about function, what I want you to think about is what's the transformation you're seeking? The transformation is getting you from point A to point B. Is that coach the person to get you there?

John Neral: 13:52

I have had people who have reached out and said, well, can you guarantee me you're going to find me a new job? And my answer is always no. First of all, as a coach, I'm not a headhunter recruiter. I'm not a job finder. I can take you through my coaching. I can take you through my program. I can coach you as best as I will one-on-one, but I am not there with you in the room when you are interviewing for a job and there are things outside of my control that I cannot promise. I cannot promise someone they're going to get the job. What I can promise is that they will tell their story more effectively and impactfully than they've ever done. Based on our coaching, I can promise them and guarantee that they will tell their story from a place of value and service far differently than they've ever done before. I can promise them that they will have the tools, the strategies and the skills to know how to network and find a new job in this market. But if you, as the client, are not willing to do the work I'm not your genie in a bottle client are not willing to do the work. I'm not your genie in a bottle. I can't make magic happen if you're not going to do the work.

John Neral: 15:10

So, when you think about the function, is it one-on-one coaching? Is it group coaching? Is it an online course? How is their program structured? Essentially, what you are asking is what is their container? The container is how they deliver their coaching. So for me it is primarily one-on-one, but I am getting ready to launch a membership community and getting into this membership community for mid-career professionals is going to be a different level of my business that I've never launched before but have spent years working on this idea. The community is at a different level where you will still get support from me, but it'll be more of a group-type setting within the membership. But it'll be Q&A, it'll be an opportunity for focus seat coaching. It will be information and education every month around navigating either the career aspect of your mid-career journey, like finding a new job, for example, or it's focused on your leadership and elevating your career within your current organization. It's that duality of. There'll be people in the group who are trying to find a job they love and there will also be people who are trying to love the job they have even more. If you are interested in something like that, the place to go is my website. It's johnnerlcom. It's my name j-o-h-n-n-e-r-a-lcom. Right there on the homepage is a space for you to sign up and get on the waitlist for the mid-career GPS community that is going to launch in quarter one of 2025. I'm so excited to get this out there and getting on the wait list. You're going to be the first ones to hear about it. But the function is the container. What's the container that coach is providing? That's going to be best for you.

John Neral: 17:16

Additionally, we got to talk about money. Coaching is not a free service. It's not. If you're going to invest in a coach, just like you would invest in a personal trainer or you would invest in a financial advisor, you are paying for a professional service. There are coaches who charge a little. There are coaches who charge a lot. There are coaches who charge somewhere in the middle. I know, based on my market research, that my one-on-one coaching for three months right now, at the time of this recording in January of 2025, is $3,500. If that's in your budget, we should talk. If it's not in your budget, the membership community may be a more viable option.

John Neral: 18:15

But what I will often say to clients is the amount of money you invest is all about your transformation and you're investing in me as your coach and you and yourself to get the results you want. So I've had people say to me oh my gosh, that's really expensive. I had others go. Oh, that's totally reasonable, it's all a thought. It's all a thought based on what you're willing to invest. But here's the thing If you believe that coaching is the path to help you elevate your career and you believe that I'm the right coach for you, here's how the numbers break down.

John Neral: 18:58

Let's say you are making. We're going to make the math easy. Let's say you make $100,000 a year. We're going to make the math easy. Let's say you make $100,000 a year If you get an internal promotion. Typically what we see is somewhere between a 6% to 10% raise. If you are leveraging your talents and expertise outside of the organization, we see that percentage increase somewhere around the 8% to 15% mark. So keep the math easy.

John Neral: 19:27

Let's say you get a 10% raise, and one of the things I help my clients do as well is we talk about negotiating their contract or negotiating their job offer. So if you're making $100,000, you get a 10% raise. That's $10,000. After taxes, you're probably looking somewhere in the ballpark of, say, $7,000. Again, we'll keep the math easy. So if three months of coaching right now is $3,500, that job raise, that promotion, financially pays for itself within the first year, not to mention the lifetime dollars you will continually earn because you've elevated yourself, promoted yourself, you're getting more money and the lifetime dollars will compound on top of that.

John Neral: 20:15

So the finance piece we have to talk about money. This is what I do for a full-time job. I am grateful that I get to do this for eight years and continuing to look to do this even more. But you have to look at the finance and see if that's aligned with your budget and what you specifically want. But here's the biggest consideration and this is the one that I will offer you. Most people miss, and this is why I know, through my coaching, when I help my clients, we talk about this as well in terms of their career path. But how does this move you forward? There is no point in looking for or hiring a coach if you don't believe that coach is going to help move you forward. Whatever your particular goals are, they are yours, but moving you forward is the biggest transformation you could have.

John Neral: 21:25

I have had people whom I worked with in the first couple years of my business One. Some still work with me. Secondly, they will reach back out and say, oh my gosh, john, I just got promoted. Here's what we had talked about years ago. I never forgot that. That was so powerful. That warms my heart because my clients reaching their goals and achieving the success they want. That is why I do this. That is why I get in front of the mic every single week with you to help you build that component of your mid-career GPS to whatever is going to be next.

John Neral: 22:07

And so you might be sitting there saying, okay, john, well, how do you work with people? Well, there's free content. Free content like this podcast. Free content like my weekly newsletter that goes out twice a week. You can get that on my website at johnnerrellcom. Free content like my blog, what I post on LinkedIn or what I post on Instagram or Facebook. I put a ton of free content out there. Free content is just that. It's free. Free content is valuable. I repeatedly have people come back and say this was really helpful. This was great. You want to engage with me at a free level. There's plenty of free content for that.

John Neral: 22:51

The other way I work with people is people who are customers. That means they have bought a particular service of mine, or course. So I have a couple of digital courses that are out there. One is called From Career Crossroads to Career Clarity a step-by-step guide for finding your sweet spot at mid-career. I have an interview prep course called A Simple Five-Step Strategy for Crushing your Next Interview. I do a LinkedIn profile audit. You can find all of those on my website at johnnarrellcom under the courses section, but they're typically an offer that is less than $100 that allows you to come in and buy some paid content that is going to help you more so than the free content. There is a reason why it's paid. There is an additional level of value in buying that particular service.

John Neral: 23:46

The last piece is that you become a client. Whether you're a client who's going to come into my new community or you're one of my private one-on-one coaching clients, you now enter into a far different relationship with me as a client because we are personally interacting. When you buy one of my digital courses, you get me recorded. You know you get lifetime access to the course in that regard, but that's just there. Okay, you come into my community or my private coaching. Now you get a different level of support because you are directly working with me. Yes, that is a paid service.

John Neral: 24:33

So one of the things I did very early on in my business and I would be remiss if I didn't talk about this was I did what was called a free session, or I did a consultation or a strategy call, and I did them because I was new. I did them because it was a great opportunity for me to build rapport with a potential client, and some of them became clients and some of them didn't. But here's what's happened, especially over the last year, as this coaching industry has evolved and changed. There are people out there and I would be willing to bet some of you might be listening to this podcast as well and thinking, oh, I could just get a free session from a coach and I never have to pay. There are coaches out there that still do free sessions.

John Neral: 25:29

I do not. I do not. My work, my caseload, my experience is such that I simply do not do free sessions anymore. If you want to work with me, you want to experience what's working with me. There is a way to book what I am now calling a leadership or career strategy session. It's a 45-minute session. At the time of this recording, in January of 2025, it's $197. If you roll up into private coaching with me one-on-one, you can take that and apply that to the cost of the coaching package.

John Neral: 26:09

Anybody that wants to work with me. The first step is book a leadership or career strategy session. Get to know what a coaching session is like. Yes, you do have to pay for it. If you don't want to hire me after that, we've had a great call. If you do want to hire me after that, I do have to pay for it. If you don't want to hire me after that, we've had a great call. If you do want to hire me after that, I apply that to the cost of the coaching package.

John Neral: 26:29

But I do not offer free sessions anymore. I just simply do not have the time to do that and it is not fair to those people who are interested in hiring me as a coach, who want to get that full experience. That's why I offer that at a reduced rate. So if you are interested in booking that particular strategy session, go to my website, johnnarrellcom. Click on the Work With Me tab or About Me section, and you will be able to see that right there.

John Neral: 27:02

But in closing, here's what you need to know. If you are looking for a coach. It is an investment. You're gonna spend money on your career development and right now money isn't growing on trees. So if you're willing to make that investment and this is something you really really want for your transformation then by all means do your research and make sure you find the coach that you connect with that is a great fit for you. They have a program that aligns with exactly what it is that you need Financially. It is within your budget that you can afford and invest in. I do not want anybody going into debt to hire me as their coach because this is an investment. Right. If you're like, look, I'll put it on a credit card, I know I can pay it off and fine, okay. And yes, I do offer payment plans, but you have to make sure that the finance piece is right for you. And, lastly, does the coach? Is the coach capable of moving you forward, given the work you are willing to put in on it to get the transformation you desire? The transformation you desire If you take those four Fs and you build them in much like I coach my clients on in terms of finding that job they're going to love, and you apply those four Fs to picking the right coach for them. I guarantee you it will not steer you wrong.

John Neral: 28:36

And if you've enjoyed listening to this episode or following me for a while and you would like to know how to work with me, easiest thing you can do you can go to my website at https://johnneral. com. There is a form on there to fill out for coaching. That's one way you can get the conversation started. You can connect with me on LinkedIn. I'm the only John Neral. That's well. I shouldn't say that I think there is one other John Neral, but we are not related. But you can certainly find my LinkedIn right off of my website as well. You can find me on Instagram or Facebook at John Neral Coaching, or you can simply email me at john@johnneral.

John Neral: 29:14

But if you want 2025 to be the year where you take greater control of your career and you are ready to find the job you love or love the job you have, or if you are a rising and emerging leader who is looking for that kind of leadership support to be more impactful with your team, increase your visibility within the organization, build a networking strategy where you get to build authentic and genuine relationships, where your brand is elevated and people are talking about you in the most positive ways to be considered for whatever that role might be next, you and I should absolutely talk, and I look forward to hearing from you. So until next time, my friends, remember this you will build your mid-career GPS one mile or one step at a time, and how you show up matters. Make it a great rest of your day. Thank you for listening to the Mid-Career GPS Podcast. Make sure to follow on your favorite listening platform and, if you have a moment, I'd love to hear your comments on Apple Podcasts, and if you have a moment, I'd love to hear your comments on Apple Podcasts.

John Neral: 30:27

Visit JohnNarrowcom for more information about how I can help you build your mid-career GPS or how I can help you and your organization with your next workshop or public speaking event. Don't forget to connect with me on LinkedIn and follow me on social at John Narrow Coaching. I look forward to being back with you next week. Until then, take care and remember how we show up matters. Thank you.